spots on my back!

02-28-2006, 12:59 AM

Quick question - has anyone experienced this before?

My skin is normally pretty good, but over the last couple of months I
seem to have broken out into quite a few spots on my back and shoulders
- Whats this got to do with Ashtanga???

....Well, I come from a background of lifting weights, wrestling, and
hard martial arts...which I gave up over 2.5 yrs ago and took up
ashtanga instead. Now as a result of my weights I created a lot of
tightness and inflexibility in my shoulders and back...and it so happens
that over the last 2 months I'm experiencing a massive change in the
openness of these areas. Could this be causing the spots on my back and
shoulders say via toxins being released or some other process?

Has anyone else experienced this before?

Ok...I'm off for a back cleanse now!

Smile,

Fraction8r

03-02-2006, 04:55 PM

My back gets the same bumps or whiteheads when I go through a change.
Usually its hormone related, and not a good sign. My blood type is
A+ so while I try to stay away from meat and oils, my system sometimes
gets the better of me, and this is a symptomn something like "bad
testosterone", and may be accompanied by short term hair loss, if your
situation is similar to mine. If that's happening, remember to end
your showers with cold water on your scalp, which supposedly helps
keep the hair intact.

This is not a reason to quit yoga, simply a reason to check the diet
etc. They say that inversions(for acne) or asanas that direct blood
to similarly affected areas, help reduce the severity of topical
infections, by increasing the localized blood flow, and oxygen, to
help ward off anerobic infections.

Epsom salts help my scalp occassionaly.

Namaste

03-05-2006, 12:48 PM

The toxins-thru-the-skin thing certainly is an attractive answer, it
really makes one believe in the internal cleansing benefits of the
practice, perhaps it is correct. The cop in me makes me want to
look first at more prosaic possibilities. Shoulders and back are
the two "regular skin" areas (as opposed to the palms and soles of
feet) that spend a lot of time pressed into your mat. Is your mat
clean? If so, might you be cleaning it with something that you are
reacting to? Are your feet tracking something on to the mat which
then winds up pressed into your shoulders/back? Is something
sweating off your body (cologne, anti-perspirant,hair product) on to
the mat, and then being pressed into the pores of your
shoulders/back? Is there someting in your shirt (if you wear one)
perhaps making a problem? Do you wear a shirt that you practice in
home before taking a shower?

Just bein' Dick Tracy.

--- In ashtangayoga (AT) yahoogroups (DOT) com, "The Fractionater"
....e.fractionater@...> wrote:
>
> Quick question - has anyone experienced this before?
>
> My skin is normally pretty good, but over the last couple of
months I
> seem to have broken out into quite a few spots on my back and
shoulders
> - Whats this got to do with Ashtanga???
>